


Women of Marvel

by ShadowHaloedAngel



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Female Characters, Female Friendship, Female-Centric, Flirting, Gen, Group Bonding, Implied Relationships, Mentorship, Team as Family, all the awesome ladies, cocktails, ladies night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-05-21 06:10:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6041119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowHaloedAngel/pseuds/ShadowHaloedAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In previous years I've let Femslash February pass without doing anything special even though I've never had a problem reading or writing femslash. I'm just not very organised. </p><p>So this year I'm starting a collection of oneshots about the Women of Marvel which will be a mixture of frienship, femslash, mentoring, and just a variety of fic that focusses on relationships between female characters in a positive way. Because women can have positive relationships, and that's something I want to see, and write, more of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jane and Darcy

Jane wasn't sure exactly what she'd expected when she'd hired a political science student for her internship. That being said, nobody else had applied so there hadn't been a lot of choice in the matter and she'd needed the help. It was pretty obvious from day one that Darcy didn't really know what she was doing either, but she was willing enough to learn and Jane appreciated that. Okay so Darcy was mainly motivated by college credit, but that was understandable at her age. Jane knew enough to know that not everybody shared her passion in life. Judging by the faces she usually got when she tried to talk about it, it was a pretty niche area.

Although she hadn't known what to expect, there were some things she definitely hadn't been expecting, and a new best friend was one of them. Jane had never had many female friends. It came of being a physics major. She wasn't the only girl ont he course but socialising was something there wasn't much time for and they'd all had different niche interests and their paths had diverged after undergraduate. 

When she'd turned up in New Mexico Darcy had seemed so different that she was almost a different species and Jane didn't understand where her priorities came from. As time went on, though, she realised she didn't need to. Darcy was there when she was needed, and she understood the things that Jane's colleagues never had, and even the things that Jane herself had never been so good at.

The internship had come to an end soon after the incident with the Destroyer... but Darcy had wanted to stay, and Jane hadn't been willing to let her go. Part of being a researcher working on your own in a remote environment like the New Mexico desert meant that they had never really had the traditional boss/intern dynamic and now... well Darcy had to go back and graduate, obviously, but she did so with the understanding that there would be a job waiting for her when she came back. Jane had a head for figures but not bureaucracy, and Darcy was a demon when it came to cutting through bullshit and filling in forms. If she hadn't ended up with Jane, Jane was pretty sure that SHIELD would have snapped her up though Agent Coulson would have hated every minute of it.

As it was, they were friends, and Jane came to realise that she couldn't really imagine life without the other woman. Darcy was unfailingly cool in a crisis, with a sense of humour that never failed to make things seem possible. There wasn't much glory in her work, but without it, Jane's work couldn't have happened at all. Besides, it was always fun to see the others try to work out how to talk to them at conferences.

With Darcy's help, Jane had set up a scheme to help young women at every stage of college and even high school get access to and exposure to the scientific field, regardless of what they were studying. After all a lot of transferable skills were available, even if most of them wouldn't be learning how to corral a rogue thunder god. Somehow, despite that, Thor was quite a considerable selling point, though Darcy always made more of him than Jane did. 

They had also begun to set up a network of other women working in all kinds of disciplines. Bruce had managed to put her in touch with Betty Ross, and Tony had a botanist friend he had sent her the card of. It was starting slow, but it was already international. Jane had managed to get in touch with Monica Grady over in the UK, and the whole thing was really taking off. 

All in all, something great had started when she had interviewed that bored looking political science student and agreed to take her on for the summer. She wasn't sure how much of it would have come to pass if Thor hadn't crash landed in the desert but whichever way you looked at it... Jane was glad Darcy was there. There were a lot of stories about how women fought and couldn't be friends and everything was a competition, but she knew that no matter how perfect Thor might have been (and he was a real life, honest to god prince), she would give him up in a heartbeat rather than lose Darcy. She couldn't rely on Thor to be a constant, but come rain or shine, Darcy was always there in the mornings with a cup of coffee and a sarcastic remark that would get her fired up for another day of searching the skies. 

Sometimes it was the little things that were far more important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Monica Grady is a real scientist and she's one of my heroes despite working in a completely different field. She was involved in the Philae landing on the comet last year, and she is unapologetically enthusiastic about everything and it's beautiful.


	2. Natasha and Maria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the world falls down, the little things can make it seem a little brighter.

It had been a long day for everyone, that was what happened when the world began to fall apart. Those who were tasked with keeping it together, no matter how alien that role might seem, ended up working hours that were barely human, let alone humane. 

Things were settling now, at least for the short term, but everyone at SHIELD knew that, as important as it was to always be prepared, it was even more important to take a breather when one was handed to you. 

Natasha was more than grateful for the chance as she started making her way out of medical on her own recognizance. It was an importance condition they'd had to bring in, even if some of the medical staff were considering withdrawing it from her and Clint, but she was grateful for it at times like these. She trusted the doctors here in as much as she trusted any doctors, but she preferred to manage her condition at home if it was manageable. She felt more comfortable not relying on other people, not betraying the fact that she was vulnerable, and it was getting to the point where she was starting to think longingly of her own bed away from the bright lights and sharp smells, and seeing people she respected and cared about in pain. That was something she had never quite adjusted to. Of course, respecting those she worked with had been an education in and of itself when she joined SHIELD. 

As she was heading for the exit she spotted just one such person that she did indeed hold in some esteem, also limping in the same direction. 

Natasha arched a perfect eyebrow and tried for a casual tone, a hint of a smile on her lips. 

"Going my way?"

"At this point I think I'm going any way that leads out of here. At the moment it looks like I'm going your way. Not that I'd be adverse to it either way, just for the record." Maria Hill closed her eyes, wincing a little as her hand came up to her forehead, "Can I blame that rare moment of loose tongued honesty on being on the good drugs?"

Natasha actually laughed at that and nodded, moving closer to rest an unobtrusive hand on Maria's back, steadying the woman where she was obviously not quite comfortable on her own two feet. 

"I think I can afford to let it slide this once. I would suggest that you don't make a habit of it but I've been working with you long enough to know you don't."

"No, I don't." That was a little rueful, and Natasha shot her a sideways glance from under her lashes as they made their way to the elevators. "Maybe I should. It's been a damn long time."

"That kind of pent up frustration isn't good for anyone, you know. Imagine how shiny your hair would be if you let it out a little more often."

"That's what conditioner's for. Or, failing that, my vibrator."

Natasha laughed again. She wasn't usually one to let her emotions show at work, but she was tired, everyone was tired, and she liked Maria. The deadpan sarcasm was her kind of humour and she appreciated the woman's plain speech. To someone who had grown up in a web of secrets, lies and propaganda, it was refreshing. She still spent most of her time in that world, but Hill could play the game when she chose to without betraying herself and her principles. That was something else about her that Natasha respected even if it was hard to adjust to. 

"I was thinking how much I'd like to go home, but I'm pretty sure I should find it in me to escort you to your place first."

"I don't have any etchings for you to come in and see and besides we're both far too tired. If you're going to escort me anywhere, how about a bar where we can both ignore the official medical advice, drink until it stops hurting, then make some junies drive us home."

"I knew there was a reason you were the Assistant Director."

"I don't play the game well enough to be Director, but I damn well know how to exercise my authority when I need to and this strikes me as one of the times I should be taking advantage of my position."

"As long as that's the only thing you're taking advantage of your position to achieve I think we have a deal."

Maria grinned at her, eyes sharp even as she wobbled slightly. 

"In that case, point me to a bar."


	3. Natasha and Pepper

Being CEO of Stark Industries was not an easy job. Of course, it was a little simpler these days now that Tony wrangling was not so much a part of it. That, and Tony respected her ability to do the job enough that he didn't interfere in things like minor restructuring, which meant that she'd managed to promote, demote, and delegate. All of those things meant that she had managed to lighten the workload a little bit, but it was still more than enough for one person. There was a lot of information, a lot of balls to keep juggling, and quite a lot of travel which was draining in and of itself. 

Pepper was well aware that she had access to some very nice resources in terms of being able to make up for some of these disadvantages, but sometimes taking care of herself felt more like another chore to add to her list rather than something to enjoy, and not being able to enjoy it rather defeated the object. 

That wasn't the case when she was able to spend time with Natasha, though. There had been a spark between them way back when at the beginning but Pepper had strict rules for herself about not fraternising with staff (even if she had made use of some of "Natalie's" skills in the massage department). Tony had been the reason for those, at least in part. She'd seen how complicated and messy it could get, the legal ramifications were never worth it, and the problem of being a female executive in this business was the extra work she had to do to appear as credible as a man as far as shareholders and the board were concerned, let alone the press who always had an unhealthy interest in Stark Industries.

She hadn't been all that happy to find out that Natalie was in fact Natasha, and a SHIELD agent. One of the best, in fact. The main point for her was less about the betrayal - she understood SHIELD's need to keep an eye on Tony particularly, but on the welfare of Stark Industries more generally, and she couldn't argue with the quality of Natasha's work or her work ethic while she'd been employed there. Pepper had had assurances from both Natasha and Coulson that there had never been any business related espionage, it had all, in fact, been strictly personal. That made it more frustrating on some level because, betrayal aside, she was losing one of the most competent assistants she'd ever had, and Natasha was very hard to replace.

It had been several months before they had met again, and in fact Natasha had sought her out, stopping by the office, wanting to take the time to apologise if she had given the wrong impression. She'd had something else to say too, which was a moment Pepper still treasured as being one of the most important in her life. 

"And I want you to know that I sincerely respect you, and your work. You are one of the hardest working people I have ever met, and you are more than competent at the job you do. I understand what it can be like to work in a male dominated field. I understand the assumptions, the rumours, the hurtful little gossip and the way you have to protect your reputation by being careful, and by being the best. I was not expecting to come into this posting and make friends. I did not know what to make of you before I met you, and even then I was not sure. But I hope... if you wouldn't mind... that we might be friends?"

Pepper had been touched, and had agreed to meet her for a drink. Of course, without the power differential in place anymore, it hadn't taken them long to fall into bed together. Pepper had always found women attractive, but it had been a long time since her last encounter back in college and in the meantime Tony had taken up too much of her time for her to be able to form a relationship. And here was not only a beautiful partner who was amazingly talented, but also someone who understood and respected her work. Who knew that it would be a difficult relationship, that time would be hard to come by, that sometimes business would take them away from each other on both of their accounts, not just on Pepper's. Quite apart from that, it was honestly refreshing to be with someone with whom she could relax, and didn't have to be on her guard about what she said or seeming eager and interested if she was tired. There were no egos, only pride in a job well done and satisfaction in sating your own and a partner's appetites. 

And now, as she sat in the car back to the Tower from the airport, she felt her mood lift a little as she remembered that Natasha would be back from her latest mission and they might even have a few blissful uninterrupted days before a rude awakening back to real life. She allowed herself a soft little sigh and gazed out of the window, hardly seeing the city going by, and thinking instead of warm curves and soft lips. Sleep would refresh her, but time with Natasha was the best rest cure of all.


	4. Skye and May

The Bus was quiet sometimes. Those times were usually when everyone was asleep, to be fair, but Skye liked the quiet. After a childhood being shuttled from place to place, quiet was one of the few consistent things she knew, and so she liked to take some time when everyone else had already settled down to just be for a little while. Her life had changed so drastically since she had become involved with the team. She didn't think she regretted it, but it was hard to square some of her choices with what had been a radical conscience. The problem with not having an awful lot of guidance is that you end up second guessing yourself, and she was used to spending hours debating whether or not she'd walked into a trap, whether or not to just run away again. 

Except she was pretty sure that Agent Coulson would find her. He seemed like the kind of person who found people. Kind of like Agent Peter Burke in White Collar. She'd liked that show. And now she found herself wondering whether there was actually an Agent Peter Burke. He seemed like the kind of person AC would drink with, but she wasn't sure about her standing, whether or not she could ask. 

It was like being a family, moreso than any of the families which had taken her in. Okay so she had more information now about why they'd passed her on so many times, that it had been necessary to keep her safe but that didn't make her feel any better about it. It felt worse, actually, wondering if there was a monster inside of her waiting to be woken up, whether she was going to become someone they were hunting rather than someone who helped them hunt one day. Not that she thought of it as hunting. But she could easily imagine how that sort of mission would go. 

She had friends here, maybe even more than friends. Simmons was certainly... well, Skye wouldn't be adverse to it at all but it was hard to read the other woman. Skye didn't really believe in the stereotype of repressed and socially clueless scientists, after all, she was a geek and her social skills were just fine, but it was hard when faced with FitzSimmons to remember that media stereotypes were rarely accurate. In their case it was more a case of the line between madness and genius being very thin. But they were both really good people and Jemma was... well, Skye liked her a lot. 

And AC was like the father figure she had really never had. She still wasn't sure what to make of Ward. Sure, he tried his best, and he was a pretty good SO but it was difficult to get past some things. 

May was the hardest to read, though, and always had been. Skye was pretty damn sure that the woman wasn't as tough as she made out. Except that she was, in so many ways, and that was something to admire even more. 

She had been certain that she knew where she stood: May didn't like her and did not believe she should be here and be part of this team. Skye didn't like that much, but she could accept it. And then May had proved her right, saying that she didn't belong on the team, that she didn't add anything, that she wouldn't be any use to them, and she'd been taken away and dumped... and somehow unlocked the whole thing. And May had known it would happen. May had faith in her ability to do that, and Skye realised that she had never really known what it felt like for someone else to have faith in you in a way that you wanted to step up to before. 

She hadn't expected it, there had been no pressure from May at all, like it was a test of some kind... but when all the pieces fell into place apparently it had been a test May had known she would pass, and that was something Skye was still trying to parse. She could do a lot, she knew that, but it was something she knew about herself. Belief like that from an external source was a different matter, and here she had two senior SHIELD agents who believed in her abilities. That was something to think about in the dark hours alright.

But if she'd learned anything in her time on the Bus, it was that even when you thought you were the only one awake, you almost certainly weren't. And Skye knew just where to find her. 

She headed forward, and knocked on the cockpit door, more to announce her presence than to ask permission. 

May was sat in the pilot's seat, lit by the display. She didn't look round. 

"Hey..."

Silence, but Skye was used to that. 

"I just... wanted to say... thanks. For... y'know... trusting me."

More silence, but May's eyes flicked up to her for a moment before they went back to the display.

"...It just... I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet. How to process it. But it means a lot. So thank you. Uh. I can... go... now?"

"You don't sleep much either."

It was a question rather than a statement, but Skye could deal with that. 

"No I... wherever I was, the safest time was always when other people were asleep. So it's when I tend to do a lot of thinking. Get some time in my own head. You know."

A slow nod, no other indication that she'd been heard, and Skye was about to turn around and leave again when May spoke. 

"Thinking too much on your own can be bad for you. Mine's a coffee. Come watch the stars. The night's a great time for working out your place in the world, that much is true. But I can teach you how to use the stars to tell you where you are. Sometimes a little direction is all you need to stop you feeling lost."

Skye stared for a moment, then smiled, slow but bright, and headed for the kitchen.


	5. Cartinelli

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a rough shift it's nice to have someone to come home to

There were times when Peggy wondered whether it really had been the right thing to do to accept this offer of a place to live. She had her reservations about Howard, and they were well founded to be sure, but she had earned it. What's more, he had deeded it to her, to them both, though Angie didn't know about that. Peggy hadn't wanted to break that to her just yet. It was difficult to know how she'd react. Peggy was finding it hard enough to adjust and she was slightly more comfortable surrounded by all of this and sure of her place in the world. 

Angie was sure of her place too but her opinion of it wasn't quite as high. Peggy knew, in her heart, knew, that she was as deserving of respect and reward as the men whom she worked alongside. More, in some cases, but that was not a case she was likely to win. It was hard to make the point that equal treatment meant assessment on equal standards which she was equally permitted to exceed, rather than simply being placed on a par with some of the more moronic of her work mates simply because they had balls. 

Then there were times when she was grateful in her very bones that she had this place to come back to. Times like this, when her stockings were laddered, her ankle twisted, her knees full of gravel and a hole had been ripped in her blouse were one of them. She made her way along the corridor, keeping all the choice words she wanted to express safely in her head. It wouldn't do to let her temper get the better of her. 

She managed to make her way inside and locked the door safely behind her. Angie would be asleep by now, which was good, though Peggy had been looking forward to hearing about the outcome of her audition. They had a lot of hope for this one, but at least Angie could save the money she was making from the diner now that she didn't have rent to worry about too. 

Peggy wasn't sure when exactly their relationship had transitioned, but she had the feeling it might have been on that awful night when Angie had been willing to choose her, to trust her over government agents even so soon after the end of the war, when they had been hearing for so long about the damage of careless talk. She knew it hadn't been the same here as it had back home, but America had been hit too and there were still casualties filtering back. 

Everything else had come later, but Peggy was fairly sure that was the night she'd fallen in love with the sassy waitress from the diner. 

She made her way over to her favourite chair and flopped into it. This part was familiar, except it wouldn't be Jarvis helping to pick the gravel out of her knees. 

She gritted her teeth, and was about to get to work when the light flicked on, and Angie stood there in her dressing gown, hands on hips.

"What time do you call this?"

Peggy managed a half smile and gestured downwards.

"It was a rough shift."

"So I see. Well, just as well you woke me then."

"I hope you weren't waiting up for me?"

"Sweetheart I know better than to wait up for you. Now you sit there, I'll put a pan on and make some cocoa and then see what I can do about that mess you call knees. I'm not going to ask the gory details, I don't wanna know, but if you think I'm happy with you getting hurt then you got another think coming."

"You're always so quick to let me know when you're not happy with me, I think it's one of my favourite things about you. It's easier to deal with any situation when you know where you stand." Peggy was smiling, and she laughed as Angie shot her a bright grin.

"Is that so? Well in that case I'll keep letting you know. But you wouldn't have to find out if you didn't keep making me unhappy with you."

"I'm afraid it's part of the job, and-"

"And I know you won't give it up. And I won't ask you to. But that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it."

Angie came over, frowning slightly as she looked Peggy in the eye.

"Your job is a part of who you are, and I would never ask you to change that. Despite all the frustrations, I'm pretty fond of who you are."

"...Is that so?" Peggy's eyes danced, and Angie's grin in return was fierce as she leant in for a soft, soft kiss. 

"Yeah. That's so."

"In that case, am I forgiven?"

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far English... but I think the antiseptic'll make it sting enough for me."


	6. Frigga and Sif

It was difficult sometimes to be a woman among men and to stand as an equal. It wasn't that women weren't valued, and of course it was well understood that they could fight at need to defend themselves, their homes, their families... but it was not expected that they should seek out active battle. They were supposed to be separate, but equal, one half of a complementary whole. But that life had never been hers, and her feet had not found that path. 

It had not been an easy road, and there were many of the boys and men who resented fighting alongside a woman let alone being bested by one. And best them, she did on many occasions. She rose gradually to become one of the foremost warriors of the realm, and gradually her dissenters, though not silenced, moved to whispers in the shadows rather than outright defiance. After all, she was more than capable of defending herself and now she had powerful allies who would not hesitate to spill blood at an insult to one they deemed a friend. That was quite apart from the seal of royal approval. The crown prince considered her among his companions, and even the All-Father himself approved of her activities. Speaking against her openly became dangerous. 

But Sif had not come this far by being foolish. She had not understood the weight of the choice she had made when she had been younger, but it had grown heavier on her shoulders ever since. Although in theory it was a burden she could set down, she had found that she didn't want to. Life would be empty without its weight and she was worried she might even drift off into the sky, floating evermore between realms if she tried to let it go. It was fanciful and she had little time for fancy but sometimes there was time enough to think as well. It had been a long time since they had waged open war and although there were hunts and skirmishes enough to keep skills sharp, there was time to think enough that warriors found the tongues of poets. 

She could have diverted her path many times but she had chosen not to. Now it was a choice, and it was easier in many way. She was not openly rejected, and although there were none who courted her, she could move among gatherings an equal of the All-Father's other warriors. 

Once there had been dreams of becoming a warrior princess, marrying her childhood friend and one day ascending to the crown. She had treated preparation for royalty with as much seriousness as she had treated her martial skills. That had fallen by the way side even before Thor had fallen out of favour and been banished to Midgard though. She had time enough for fancy when it pleased her but that was too big a lie to believe in and she had known it would be unfair to him for a long time. He was a friend, first, last, and always. It would not have been fair to have expected to become more to him without being able to offer all of herself in return, and she could not offer that. Her heart would not truly be his and now his heart would never be hers. She could accept that. 

Silence was easier than outward disdain except for the currents she knew rippled beneath the surface. It was hard to negotiate obstacles and threats shec ould not see and although it seemed that for the moment her enemies had disappeared, she was left without friends. She had comrades, of course, and they were friends enough, but it was not so simple. She longed for female friends, people who would understand the other side of her which she had suppressed for so long around the warriors that she half believed they had forgotten it. On one hand it was gratifying that it mattered so little, but on the other, she did not want to deny herself. 

She did not. She wore gowns, defiant and beautiful in them, she had more feminine armour designed and crafted (although of course it was still practical), but it was still hard to find a place in a world so rigidly defined in what was acceptable when she was defying those constraints. Other women were not so willing to associate with her and she could not blame them. She knew what it had taken to get this far, to become this person, and although she might socialise with no intention other than being friends, it would be easy for others to become tarred with her brush, to become contaminated. Nobody wanted that when remaining an old maid was a distinct and real threat to the paths most of them intended to tread through life. 

She was in no rush for such a betrothal to a man who might require her to be less than she was, to give up her weapons, to remain at home. She would not settle. And equally it was not hard to disport herself with those her comrades enjoyed in the adrenaline of victory. There seemed little point in making long term commitments when the very nature of her life meant she could quite reasonably expect a dagger through the back on any sortie from the realm of Asgard. 

Her brother said nothing, he had always been different. They came from a family of those who were different, it seemed. He watched and he knew, and he remembered. He had seen her future, and he had supported her choices. 

There were times when she was alone, which she attempted to fill with reading, with culture, demonstrating to herself that she was a well rounded lady despite it all who happened to know how to handle a sword and to be more than comfortable with it. She was a warrior at heart, she always had been, but that was not all there was. There was a fire in her and the thought of tethering it to someone, attempting to tame it, was too much. She couldn't accept it. But it hurt either way, both the thought of being alone, and the thought of being less than herself with another.

Then support had come from an unexpected quarter. 

She had been dealing with this alone for so long that she had started to believe she would be doing so until the day she died - whenever that might be. 

She hadn't believed the message which had been delivered asking her to take tea with the queen. The All-Mother didn't have time for such things or such people, surely. Of course they were aware of each other, they crossed paths often enough at official events, but an invitiation to tea? It was strange. Sif hoped that it wasn't going to be a referendum on the friendship she had long shared with Thor. Although he had made his position on the crown clear and Loki was now out of the running, there were still many in Asgard who viewed him as the heir. Sif wasn't sure where Frigga stood on the subject of her son's inheritance but she could understand the idea that a more suitable candidate for queen would have to be found. 

Thor's dalliance with the mortal was all well and good but it was inconsequential when it came to the long term future of the nine realms and the galaxy beyond. When she had been younger it had been talked about but that had been when people still believed her fascination with all thing martial was a way of setting herself apart from other girls and drawing the attention of the men. When it had become clear that it was something she was interested in for its own sake, that approbation, minor as it was, had also disappeared. 

Frigga was known to be kind and Sif could well understand the idea that she might wish to let her down gently in private. It would be kinder to remove that hope before it ever became relevant, after all. 

What she hadn't expected was the two of them to sit in the All-Mother's private reception chamber with refreshments, looking out over the garden, and to be asked about her training program. 

She had answered, of course. It would have been rude to remain silent or to question the queen, but the interest in the details caught her by surprise. The questions Frigga then asked made it obvious that she knew about these things already and was no stranger to some of the issues which might be faced by a woman bearing arms. She was interested, too, in the technical aspects of the training. There was some fascination with the fact that Sif was the expert with the longsword among the other warriors. They were all famed for their skill but each of them had an approach that was as different as they were. 

"I must admit, I was always more interested in the life of a warrior than in the life of a lady but I didn't have the freedom to choose as you did."

With that simple sentence Sif could have sworn she felt the world tilt on its axis.

She stared, stuttering, unable to come up with something that might have been a reasonable reply, and Frigga smiled. Sif felt something she hadn't even been aware of unknot in her stomach. 

"I learned what I could, you know as I do that all children are trained to a certain degree, and then we start to split off, to differentiate. I wanted to learn more of weaponry, I wanted to be fierce and bold and stand up alongside my father but it was never to be. I'm not entirely sure on when negotiations started for my betrothal to Odin but they were cemented by the time I was a teenager. It wouldn't have done for the future queen of Asgard to have been so notably different. So I focussed on learning and mastering what was permitted. I can wield a dagger, and I have done so without fear. I learned spells and mastered my magic too. It is often the province of women and therefore underrated but we both know how much damage magic can do. It was a skill Loki developed early which contributed to his exclusion I think. It saddened me, I had hoped that rather than being seen as a weakness it might have been recognised by others as a strength." She sighed sadly, glancing away, and Sif remained silent in respect of a mother's grief. "However it was not to be."

The smile which was turned back to Sif was as warm as ever, and it did indeed reach her eyes. 

"What I have always admired about you is your refusal to become a warrior and nothing more. There would be nothing wrong with that, of course, it would be wonderful for a female warrior to be of such high status at all. But you never bargained for it, at least not as harshly as I once believed I would have to if I had followed that path. You have refused to surrender all trappings of femininity, to deny yourself. I have always felt that denying oneself never served any purpose. Don't you agree?"

It took a moment for Sif to process that sufficiently to nod vigorously and agree that obviously the All-Mother was right about that. She was, of course, and Sif did agree, it was just difficult to form any kind of coherent argument in the face of somebody revolutionising everything you had believed certain about the world. 

"I... always had hopes for you. I knew there were those who believed you were simply being groomed to stand alongside my son when you were both small but I had a feeling you were destined for better thing. Thor is a good man, he may one day be a great one. The experience on Midgard changed him, and I have met his love now and I can see the spark in her which Thor prizes so highly. Her spark is not the same as his but they complement each other. Your fire burns brightly enough that I don't think it would have lasted had an alliance been sought between the two of you of that nature. Bedfellows of course if you wished it but more long term neither of you would have been happy. Despite what the fustier individuals of the court may have you believe, my lady Sif, you do deserve to be happy. I cannot guarantee you a future, but I can guarantee you that you will always have my support. Already among the youngsters there are those who are inspired by you, and who are following in your footsteps. That gladdens my heart every day and I must thank you for it."

"I... I... It... is my honour, then, my lady?"

"I believe the honour is ours that you serve us and represent us."

The smile was back again and Sif was starting to consider that Frigga might be the real power in the land. 

"I... have given my word that I will serve the All-Father until the day I die in that service. And the All-Mother, of course."

"Of course."

"I... was unsure what to expect when you summoned me, my lady. I must confess that this was not what I expected."

"Oh? And what did you expect?"

"For you to tell me that I would never be considered suitable marriage material for Thor when the time came for him to ascend the throne."

Frigga smiled.

"You wouldn't be, but it is not for the reasons you feared, I suspect. If you feared that obligation equally then I am happy to free you from it. Our warriors have grand traditions of being honoured, and they have been able to lead their lives largely without interference. Nobody asks men to surrender their private lives in the service of the crown and in search of glory. It is not yet the same for women but you give me hope that one day it might be. You have an ally in me, Lady Sif, and I do hope, perhaps also a friend."

Sif stared at her for a long moment, and then bowed her head. 

"The honour is mine, All-Mother, and my thanks."

"Now that we have the formalities out of the way perhaps we can enjoy some tea and pastries, and you can tell me tales of the exploits of your comrades. I always had a suspicion you might be the brightest amongst them. I am sure you have many stories to tell."

Sif tried to look innocent, but it was a losing battle and after a moment she laughed and shook her head.

"...All-Mother, you have no idea..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Camp Nano again! So this time around I'm working on tying up a couple of projects (or at least working on them some more!) including this one. There's a couple more chapters lined up, but I'll keep going as long as I have ideas!


	7. Carol and Drew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every part of the day is different, but for these two, evenings are the best time.

It was the evenings that were the best times. The evenings which were quiet in comparison to everything else. It didn't always work out that way, of course, but if they got any down time it was usually at night. Not that either of them had predicable schedules. Carol knew she could get called in pretty much any time, and sometimes her active duty wasn't predictable. And that was quite apart from being an Avenger and occasionally saving the city. 

Jess was an Avenger too, of course, even if she wasn't so much on the active side these days. She'd resigned, but the thing with being an Avenger was that it was very hard to walk away from because you felt a duty to step up when you knew that your powers could be used to help people. Jess hadn't been sure about that for a long time, and Carol couldn't blame her, but the fact was that she'd done an awful lot of good. If she preferred to spend her time working on more normal, small scale stuff, that was perfectly reasonable. Besides there was a time honoured tradition of part time PIs in the superhero ranks of New York.

PIs did a lot of work at night, it was true. It was a lot easier to follow people in the dark, and the shadier characters (both literally and figuratively) tended to prefer to do their work then. Jess had the advantage of being able to follow them from non traditional angles. It wasn't exactly busy at her little agency, but she did enough to not get bored. 

Even if she was going out later and Carol had somewhere she needed to be for military business though, they usually managed to get their evenings together. 

Evenings together meant dinner with the cats looking on, cooking together and tasting and teasing and laughing and stolen kisses. Evenings together meant time curled up on the couch watching wildlife documentaries or history programs or the kind of comedy show that actually made you laugh. 

On the best nights, evenings together meant falling into bed together and going to sleep curled up close. 

Mornings weren't so good really. Mornings meant Carol getting up and going for a run while Jess rolled over and buried her face in the pillow and cursed the sun until the cats made enough noise that she woke up to feed them. Mornings meant getting ready for a day of unknowns which had the potential to be good or bad. In the superhero business mornings meant that today might be your last day on earth. 

Sometimes they could meet for coffee at lunch time and that was always a nice break in the day. It wasn't predictable but it was time together and good cake. Carol had long ago stopped questioning Jess' ability to find good bakeries that also did great coffee. Of course, Carol's standards for coffee were low. It was a side effect of spending so much time drinking what passed for coffee in the military. Sometimes she thought that if someone gave her good coffee she wouldn't know what to do with it. All things considered that was probably true, but then, Tony Stark who famously drank enough coffee to sink an entire Navy fleet, was in much the same boat. 

Afternoons stretched interminably onwards towards the evening and there was no guarantee what they would be filled with. Sometimes it was paperwork, sometimes it was training, sometimes it was an intergalactic emergency or a missing persons enquiry. The only good thing about afternoons was the way they passed towards the evening. Knowing what was coming at the end of it made it sweeter.

There was no real pattern to which of them got home first, but whoever was second could be assured of a hug and a kiss, the kind of gentle contact that soothed away the day before whether it had been good or bad. 

Carol couldn't help but oof slightly as Cat-Hulk made himself comfortable on Jess' lap. It wouldn't have made much difference if Jess hadn't been curled up on her in the first place but Cat-Hulk's bulk was enough that she could feel the extra mass. He did what he usually did and settled down to sleep, looking more like a furry pillow than a cat. 

Captain had fallen down behind the couch, Reaper was nowhere to be seen, and Katniss was balanced on the curtain rail. Carol was pretty sure she'd fall off soon. Children had never exactly been a part of her future plans, but that was what it felt like sometimes with six cats in the apartment. 

As she considered them, Storm stalked past, tail held proud like a regal banner, and Carol shook her head, laughing. 

The noise and the motion startled Jess into wakefulness and she peered blearily around. 

"I was awake."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm an alert force to be reckoned with."

"I know."

"I was just resting my eyes."

"Of course."

Jess turned her gaze on Carol, whose blue eyes were dancing. 

"You were laughing...." she gave her best betrayed pout and it was too much for Carol to restrain her laughter further. "You were laughing and you woke me. You're mean."

"I know, I'm heartless and terrible."

"I was comfy...."

Carol combed her finger through Jess' hair gently, grinning at her. 

"I'm terribly sorry, that was very rude of me, is there any way I can make it up to you?"

"...I'll think about it."

Carol laughed again and leaned in for a soft kiss. 

Jess gave up the pretence of being in any way offended and returned it with a grin, snuggling closer. 

"You're very comfy to cuddle with. You have a good lap. You should be proud."

"Maybe I'll put it on my resume... under special skills?"

"I think that would be a good idea except that then I might have to share it and I don't share well. It's my lap. I am possessive of it."

"Are you possessive of the rest of me or just my lap?"

"I'm possessive of all of you but it is a very good lap. I'm trying to work out if there woudl be any way for me to file for custody of it if we were to split up."

"I think you get custody of the cats before you get custody of my lap."

Jess looked distinctly unimpressed.

"Of course I get custody of the cats. I just don't have enough lap for all six so really if I could take yours it would be a bonus."

Carol surrendered to laughter completely, seeing no point in trying to keep it in anymore.

"Or we could just stay together and the cats can have twice the amount of lap real estate?"

Jess subjected the offer to mock consideration for a moment, finger to her chin, then extended her hand with a grin. 

"We have a deal."

Carol shook her hand, then stole another quick kiss. 

"Good. Now. What's on the agenda for this evening?"

"I think we were watching all the times Clint appears on America's Funniest Home Videos..." Jess snuggled closer, and Carol grinned, reaching for the remote.

"Ah yes.... how could I forget... now where's that tally chart..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd almost forgotten to include this couple, but they're one of the major ships I have. I'm not very vocal about it, it's just that in my head they're in one of those little boxes labelled 'together'.


	8. Natasha and Melinda May

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes rather than playing by life's rules, everyone's better off in the long run if you tear up the book and write your own.

It was difficult to put a finger on why it was their relationship worked. After all, everything that the media outside seemed to tell them was that it shouldn't. They were two women in a highly competitive, formerly male dominated industry. Women like them were not meant to be friends. They were meant to put each other down, not help each other up. They were meant to be fighting over position and the men around them. Of course, neither of them had ever been all that interested in playing games, and playing along with this one just seemed like a waste of time.

So they didn't. They never had. They had worked alongside each other where missions had allowed, and spent downtime together when they hadn't. Not all the time, of course, neither of them was exactly inclined to spend that much time with any one person. People were stressful and in a job that required them to spend large amounts of time with other people, often in stressful situations, independent downtime was bliss. But they made a rule to meet up once when they were in the same place at the same time, missions allowing. 

Of course, over the years they had both worked their way up through the organisation. Mel had had a much more traditional approach to the career path than Natasha, who had joined them young. She had, after all, already got the experience and training that they needed, even if they weren't comfortable with using a child as an agent. Clint had been right to bring her in, of course, serving the dual purpose of neutralising a threat and bringing a great potential resource on board. But it wasn't that simple, because it never was.

Natasha had been with the organisation first, and her reputation when Mel had joined hadn't exactly been stellar. The men called her a whore, more often because she wouldn't sleep with them than because she would (Coulson and Fury had been very clear and firm in explaining those rules to her and Natasha had been more relieved than anything not to have to use her body as a bargaining chip at base) and the women thought much the same. She was a threat, and she wasn't one of them, and that gave them reason enough to dislike her. She didn't play the game by what they regarded as the rules. 

Mel had always liked that about her. After all, from her point of view there was no point in playing by rules which were specifically designed to give you a handicap coming out of the gate. She wasn't interested in that, and slowly they had formed a little team.

It wasn't just the two of them, of course. It was primarily them but there were a few others who cycled in and out of the group. Maria Hill, Victoria Hand, Bobbi Morse.... even Sharon Carter caught their notice in the later years. They had known from the beginning that there was no point playing with the cards life had dealt them if they followed the rules as they were set down, and so they set out to change the rules. 

It hadn't been that difficult, and although slowly the little almost-group had fragmented with their careers and abilities taking them in different directions, they retained a friendliness with each other and a trust which others found it hard to earn and to emulate. 

Natasha and Mel still took the time to meet up when they could though. 

These days things had changed and it was far more often comparing notes on who had the stupidest team. Whoever lost had to buy the drinks for the evening. Although Natasha had felt she had the whole pack's worth of aces in Clint, Steve, and Tony, she had to admit that Phil was still able to give her a run for her money and that, although she liked the sound of Skye, the girl was trouble. 

It was rare that they got the chance to work together, after all there was a big difference in scale between Phil's little team on the Bus and the Avengers. One was global, galactic even, and although the other was slightly grander scale than the Hell's Kitchen heroes (it was quite literally the safest place to live in Manhattan at times), it wasn't exactly comparable. 

Except this time Phil's team had stumbled across something that was too big for them, even as a force it was more suited to had turned up. Calling the Avengers had been the only sensible option and although the situation was now resolved and the threat contained, the battle hadn't been without incident. 

Natasha could see Bruce from here, with that familiar grey undertone which sat in his skin just afer a hulking as a sign of the energy expenditure that went with it. It was worrying but he would be fine with some food and a chance to rest. 

Tony's suit was dented. Steve was more or less fine if slightly smoke damaged. He was always irritatingly fine. Natasha smiled a little to herself as old phrases about the annoying flawless blond one ran through her mind in a language she barely used anymore. Thor was entirely flawless. He was poking at the corpse of the creature they'd defeated, trying to identify it with the optimistic curiousity of the non-zoologically gifted confronted with something that had too many teeth. 

She could hear Clint whining from here. Clint was a very good whiner. She did expect it to stop soon though, because Phil was around, and Phil had various ways of getting Clint to shut up. She wasn't entirely sure what method he was going to employ this time but she was sure it would be effective. 

The science twins had formed a little flock around Tony and Bruce, joined by Skye, and she could hear them twittering from here. Their enthusiasm was endearing, but at the same time it went right through her head. 

She glanced at May, who smiled. It was a weary, hard won smile, the kind you wore when you had seen battle and it had taken more out of you than you would like to admit. Natasha knew that smile. 

She glanced at the creature and back again. 

"Are you okay?"

"I am. I'll be fine. And so will they."

"They're a lot noisier about it than we are."

"Yes, but that's because they always have been."

Natasha offered the ghost of a smile and nodded briefly, "That's true enough."

Mel stretched, wincing as things clicked into place. 

"I'm getting old."

"You're still the best in the business though."

"Is that so?" Mel arched an eyebrow, but smiled, "I won't always be the quickest though. You're not aging, it's not the same for you."

"There is still nobody else I would trust like you at my back."

Mel watched her for a long moment, then nodded. It was once, brief, perfunctory, but actions between them had never needed to be particularly expressive.

"Thank you. I feel the same. And I'm glad you could come for the fun."

"I don't think we'd ever miss it... even without the fun, we'll always come for Phil." She glanced up, just barely meeting her eyes before she looked away, stopping the moment becoming too loaded with feeling, "And I will always come for you if you call me."

Mel took a moment to process that, acknowledging it with silence, and then the briefest of nods. 

"I know. I'll come for you too."

"I know."


	9. Skye & Simmons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Families come in a lot of different forms, sometimes one you build yourself is just as valid, even if you didn't realise you were doing it.

Different people seemed to have different definitions of family. It was something that was very personal, that, although it might have a generally accepted meaning, was full of personal nuance. That was what made it so difficult from Skye's point of view. She simply didn't have the framework of reference needed to understand. 

Of course she got it in theory, it wasn't hard. A family was something that everyone else had. She wasn't sure what cosmic power had decided that she didn't get one, she wasn't sure of the reason why. For a long time she had suspected it must be something about her. There must be something wrong with her on a fundamental level that meant she didn't get one. 

She'd gradually grown out of that - at least she thought she had - because it was the kind of thing where if you let it bother you it would never ever go away. It wasn't like other triggers you could avoid or pretend didn't exist because family was everywhere. 

The Rising Tide had eventually become like a sort of family. They were misfits like she was with nowhere else to be or no other people to be there with. Except when you found out that somebody was living with their parents because they'd lost their job or something like that. She didn't judge them for it, not the way some people did. There was no shame from her perspective in living in your parents' place even as an adult because jobs were hard to get and if you had that support she couldn't understand why you wouldn't take advantage of it. To get this far she'd had to take advantage of every piece of support she could get and as far as she was concerned there was nothing different about that one. 

The problem with the Rising Tide was that everyone was out for themselves. She understood that, of course. There was no point in making a special effort if someone was taken by the government because that put you and others more at risk. If someone was taken, they were taken. Of course that didn't make it any better when it finally happened to her. 

She'd settled into the dynamic on the Bus pretty well, pretty quickly. That was a lot ike a family but then over the years she'd gotten very good at pretending to be part of different families. She wasn't sure whether it was because she acted too well or not well enough that they never kept her around for long. It was worse, really, until you accepted that there was no way anybody was ever going to keep you, so you kept your head down, kept yourself to yourself, and didn't bother unpacking your things. Even then, it had taken her longer than she would have liked to learn that lesson because every time she found herself hoping that this time it would be different, this time she would be good enough, this time she wouldn't screw up. Until she realised that she would never be good enough and it was never going to change. 

As far as the Bus was concerned, in some ways she had nothing to lose. She didn't want to work with the government, it was collaborating with people she distrusted, doing things she had never dreamed of. Except that once you met them in person and they weren't just numbers or faceless suits then it was pretty hard to distrust them. And then there was the part about doing things she'd only dreamed of. There was a chance that from inside the system she could find the people who had brought her into this world and try to figure out what it was that had gone so terribly wrong that she would never be enough ever again for the rest of her life. And dealing with aliens was pretty cool. 

Nobody ever asked about her family. She wasn't really sure what to say when it did come up but she'd taken to heart the lesson that one never needed to unsay something that had never been said in the first place. And so she said little about the things that were important. 

And Ward trained her and he was patient, and she preferred learning from him to learning from May. Except that May taught her how to fight like a girl as if it wasn't a bad thing, and May taught her exercises for her mind as well as her body, and although she never said much about it, May showed trust in Skye's abilities and gave her chances to prove herself. 

Coulson she'd always had a soft spot for ever since he'd been the one to jab Ward with the truth serum when they were bringing her in. She'd hacked his file, and it was an impressive record. Besides which the Tahiti crisis had thrown up an awful lot of issues around that. It was very odd to realise she was dealing with someone who was technically a zombie. Evidently she was going to be the only one to come out and call it like she saw it, but... well, that was how she saw it, and he didn't seem to mind, and he made terrible jokes and gave life advice and told stories and made sure they all went to bed on time and didn't skip dinner. 

It was easy to look at the Bus team and see a family structure. Ward was the older brother, Coulson and May were Mom and Dad. FitzSimmons were the kids. 

She wasn't sure where she fitted into it though. She never was. 

She wasn't sure about it until Simmons started inviting her to join in the games and asking her to hold things in the lab and seeing if she wanted to write code that would simplify their work. She wasn't sure about it until they started trading complaints about how the day was going and Simmons told her stories about the SHIELD academies that both made her want to go and determined to stay away. She wasn't sure about it until she noticed the way Jemma listened to her too and asked her about things, about her life, about how she'd got where she was without ever pushing too far into things that Skye didn't want to think about let alone talk about. 

They'd found themselves in England and Jemma had taken some time off to see her family. Skye had been planning to hang out with the Bus. She didn't have an awful lot to do and she was pretty sure her leash didn't extend to sightseeing. 

She hadn't been expecting the invitation to go with her, or the warm welcome at the house. She hadn't expected hospitality or to be treated... just as a normal person, worthy of respect, worthy of consideration, simply to be worthy. After that whenever Jemma phoned home she always took care to let her parents know how Skye was getting on, as much as she could without giving anything of course, and to pass messages back the other way. 

For Skye it was an odd idea, the idea that she should be cared about. She still didn't really understand why Jemma had gone out of her way to make the introductions anyway. She didn't like not knowing things, it was like writing code without having variables and it nagged at her. So one day she asked.

"You know when we were in London for that thing? And we had a few spare days and you took me to meet your parents? Why did you do that? I mean it's not like... I would have understood if you just wanted some family time or whatever."

Jemma tilted her head, considering Skye for a moment before she replied. 

"I offered because you're my friend. Because you've been a good friend to me and because you've never really known what it's like to have a family. I know we couldn't give you much, but I thought maybe... my parents have always been excited when I have friends. I wasn't very good at it when I was younger. And so they like welcoming people and making them feel just as accepted. They've met Fitz, but he doesn't always like to visit. He's got his own family to see when he can make it, but you... well you don't have that, anywhere in the world that we know of, and we might never be able to find it. But I thought you might like to... I don't know, borrow mine? Share them? You don't have to, obviously, and that's not meant to sound like you're not a real part of it. Just that if you want to be, or if you need something, you can ask them, even if I'm not here. They like you. And they've always sort of felt that nobody should be alone."

And Skye had nodded because it was easier than finding the words to answer that and her thoughts had been spinning around in her mind. She was a system kid, a problem child, she didn't have a home and she didn't have an anchor and she knew well enough that nobody would notice if she drifted off somewhere else or wonder all that much about where she'd gone. 

Except.

Except for the British girl with the bright smile and the worryingly adorable lack of preoccupation with the real world who had still somehow thought that maybe her friend might like a taste of what it was like to be part of a family and have people who cared about her. 

Meeting Jemma's family had made her realise that she wasn't in the system anymore. There were no more anonymous foster homes to be moved on to, no more families to be shuffled between... this was her team, this was the team she had joined, the team she had seen active combat with, the team she had shed blood, sweat, and tears with. And the team who took her on her own terms. Who thought about her and cared about her. They didn't treat her differently, their interest hadn't waned, and slowly, Skye was starting to realise that it was definitely possible to define your own family, and that maybe, just maybe, she had built one right here.


	10. Ladies' Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Contains 18 different Marvel Ladies having a bonding session with alcohol. Nothing particularly detailed, just celebrating the power of women upholding and supporting other women, and the fact that ladies can be friends.
> 
> Featuring: Natasha Romanoff, Maria Hill, Melinda May, Victoria Hand, Sharon Carter, Bobbi Morse, Pepper Potts, Jane Foster, Jemma Simmons, Sue Storm, Betty Ross, Darcy Lewis, Wanda Maximoff, Kate Bishop, Carol Danvers, Jessica Drew, Misty Knight, Jess Jones, and Colleen Wing.

It hadn't started out this way. Things like this rarely did, after all. They started from the kernel of an idea, or even completely by accident, and grew organically. 

This had begun when, after a particularly aggravating mission, the debrief had ended with Assistant Director Hill inviting Agent Natasha Romanoff to have a drink. 

They'd ended up in a bar several blocks away where they could ignore the world outside and everything in it, both business in the sense of work that had to be done, and business in the sense of colleagues with whom it was hard to be comfortable. 

It had become something of a ritual on a monthly basis to set rank aside for the evening and enjoy a few drinks, escapism from the world's stupidity and a chance to discuss problems in life and work which they found frustrating. 

Agent May had been the next to join, and although she didn't say much her dry sense of humour and intolerance for idiocy meant she was very welcome. Besides, it was another person to help pick up the drinks tab. 

Agent Hand came occasionally, if things were particularly frustrating, but she wasn't so much a regular fixture. Agent Morse on the other hand became something of a core member. Agent Carter had been known to poke her head in as well sometimes. 

And that had become routine. It was a regularly scheduled Friday night once a month where the ladies of SHIELD gravitated to spend time with like minded people, and relax a little. 

Then Natasha had been sent undercover at Stark Industries, and after several weeks of working for Miss Potts she'd noticed that the monthly 'meeting' was coming up. That gave her cause to pause for a moment. Outsiders had never been present at the meetings before, after all it was an environment where work talk required a security clearance. But Pepper Potts had a security clearance, and she was even more isolated in her role than any of the ladies who came along to the bar. 

So that was when the circle began to open up from just members of SHIELD to women who were peripherally involved with the superhero community and all the chaos that tended to bring about. 

It got to the point where they had to book out a private room once a month. But they continued to meet, through missions and research projects and assignments... and they paid for the use of a private bar. No staff, it was safer that way and they were more than capable of making their own drinks, but at least somewhere with a good kitchen. Food was a necessity at an event like this, particularly with the hours required of active field agents, research scientists, and the occasional CEO.

Which was why Natasha was standing behind the bar, inspecting the range of tequila on offer. Hill, May, and Pepper were waiting expectantly on the other side of the bar for her to make a selection. Bobbi on the other hand was in the far corner with Jane Foster, Jemma Simmons, Sue Storm and Betty Ross. From the animated hand gestures Natasha wasn't entirely convinced it was science rather than ex boyfriends which were up for discussion. After all three of them had exes in the Avengers, and Natasha was pretty sure there were some pretty entertaining stories which could come out of that.

Darcy Lewis was sat with Wanda Maximoff, Kate Bishop, Carol Danvers, and Jessica Drew while Misty Knight, Jess Jones, Sharon Carter and Colleen Wing had commandeered a table in the corner which they seemed to be intent on filling with the most nachos possible. 

Natasha smiled to herself, just barely. 

When this began she hadn't been at all convinced that it would be a good idea, but now she could feel the value in it. She'd gone from having no place where she could let her guard down even a little to having... well, even if she wouldn't call them friends, a group of people with whom she identified. She wasn't alone anymore, and she knew there were several other women in this room for whom this had the same significance. It was a great thing to be a part of. And besides, there had been a few occasions when some of the less bright men of her acquaintance had taken it upon themselves to find out what the ladies did once a month. She'd quite enjoyed the expressions of terror on their faces when they'd opened the door to see every powerful woman of their acquaintance staring at them with an unimpressed expression. 

Sometimes it didn't take a show of force, after all. All it took was a show of disappointment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sif comes along when she finds herself on Midgard for whatever reason. I decided not to tag everyone in this chapter who doesn't appear in other chapters in case people expected more about those characters and were disappointed.


End file.
